The field of network security has become increasingly important and complex in today's society. Businesses and other organizations often store confidential or sensitive information in their private computer networks, which are typically protected by various security mechanisms such as firewalls. The need to protect confidential and sensitive information in a private network is complicated by the Internet and by users within the networks. The Internet has enabled interconnection of different computer networks all over the world, and has also presented many opportunities for malicious operators to breach security mechanisms such as firewalls in order to exploit these networks. For some types of malicious software, once it has infected a host computer, a malicious operator may issue commands from a remote computer to control the malicious software. The software can be instructed to perform any number of malicious actions, such as sending out spam or malicious emails from the host computer, stealing sensitive information from a business or individual associated with the host computer, and propagating to other host computers.
Authorized users within a private network can also jeopardize the security of confidential and sensitive information in a network. Unwitting users can compromise a private network by engaging in risky behaviors with sensitive information associated with the network. Often, risky behaviors are not detected until network security has been breached. Other authorized users may have more sinister motives and could use their authorized access to pilfer confidential or sensitive information unnoticed from hosts or other assets in the network. Thus, the ability to effectively protect and maintain stable computers and systems continues to present significant challenges for component manufacturers, system designers, and network operators.